Duane Hicks
Water and sewer rates are going up in Fort Frances again this year after town council approved a hike at its meeting Monday night.
Residents will pay 2.1 percent more while industrial, commercial, and institutional customers are seeing a jump of 17.39 percent.
The residential monthly rate for water will go up from $34.09 to $34.77 while the monthly rate for sewer will increase from $30.08 per month to $30.68.
This means an increase from $64.17 per month for water and sewer on residents’ bimonthly bills to $65.45 per month—a $1.28 increase per month.
Since bills are bimonthly, that means the total increase per bill will be $2.56.
Over one year (six bills), that means a total rise of $15.36.
For ICI customers, the volumetric ICI metered rate (the rate paid for water used above 20 cubic metres a month) will be set at $2 ($1.08 for water and $0.82 for sanitary sewer) per cubic metre.
Last year, the ICI sector paid a variable rate of $1.71 per cubic metre for sewer and water.
Part of the reason for the hike to ICI is to close the gap between what residents and ICI pay for water.
On average, a cubic metre of water cost $3.15 to treat. A resident pays $3.52 per cubic metre while ICI pays $2, which means the former is subsidizing the latter.
As well, the volumetric metered rate per cubic metre for non-residential customers will be set at $4.40—up from $3.99 last year.
The rate increases will collect an extra $228,699.39 in revenues for the town compared to 2009.
Operations and Facilities manager Doug Brown said the rationale for the increase, which was put forth by the Operations and Facilities executive committee (Couns. Rick Wiedenhoeft, Paul Ryan, and John Albanese), consisted of several reasons.
Brown explained that in the next year, the town will get a municipal water licence from the Ministry of the Environment, within six months of which the town will have to develop financial plans which ensure full cost-recovery (i.e., the utility has to make enough money to run itself).
These plans will be along the same lines as those a consultant presented to council back in 2005.
Brown said the town has 71 km of pipes, more than 13 km of which are more than 80 years old and have reached the end of their life cycle, and these will need replacing over the next 10 years.
The town has to put away money to replace these.
As well, the town is having an infiltration and inflow (I and I) study done. Brown noted 42 percent of water treated by the sewage treatment plant is groundwater or surface run-off water, and does not need to be treated.
The study will identify where and how this extra water is getting into the system, and the town will fix the infiltration and inflow problems, saving the unnecessary treatment of wastewater.
Brown said hopefully the leaks will line up with the 13 km of old pipe the town will be replacing.
“Basically, it’s a long-term asset management plan where roads are going to be dug based on reducing ‘I and I,’ and the watermains are going to be done at the same time,” he remarked.
As well, universal water metering is coming down the pipe, noted Brown, pointing out that with metering will come a fixed component to rates with non-decreasing volumetric charges—in other words, all customers will be charged the same volumetric rate for water.
Right now, residents pay $3.52 per cubic metre, ICI pays $2, and non-residents pay $4.40. In the future, everyone will pay the same rate.
While recent lead testing has not turned up high results, the town also eventually will have to look at replacing lead services to some water customers here.
Coun. Rick Wiedenhoeft pointed out that ICI consumes about 32 percent of the town’s water, but pays for only 21 percent. On the other hand, residential customers consume 59 percent but pay for 66 percent.
“When water meters come in, mandated by the province, all of a sudden the commercial’s going to be forced to pay $3.15. Right now, they’re paying $2,” Coun. Wiedenhoeft added.
“What we’re trying to do is close that gap so each consumer pays closer to what it costs to produce water and treat water. . . .
“If we don’t adjust them slowly, there’s going to be a huge impact down the road,” he warned.
Coun. Ken Perry voted against the increase. He said he is in favour of trying to narrow the difference between classes, but felt the 17 percent hike to ICI this year, after increasing it 11 percent last year, was just too much.
“I expected we were going to up the rates a little more for ICI than residential, but I was shocked when we did it the other day, and I am shocked now,” Coun. Perry said Monday night.
“We can’t do this to these people,” he stressed, adding the ICI sector provides jobs in town.
“If we don’t do it, the province is in going to step in and say, ‘Do it now,’ and then the impact on those guys is going to be an 80 percent, maybe 100 percent increase, all in one year,” countered Coun. Wiedenhoeft.
“I just don’t know how they would survive it if we don’t do it slowly with the increase,” he reasoned.
“I am almost convinced [water meters] will be legislated,” said Coun. Paul Ryan. “There’s a huge push for conservation. It’s all driven down east, we have no say on this, as usual.
“Just look at what has come down on us in the past couple years . . . Walkerton will never die.
“We will be mandated in the next couple years,” Coun. Ryan reiterated.
But Coun. Perry remained steadfast that council should pare down the ICI hike and “hold their breath” on any possible water meter legislation, which he felt would be phased in over several years.
“It’s not going to happen overnight,” he noted, adding many municipalities won’t be able to afford the transition.
